Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC)

What is HIPEC and What This Means to Your Patients?

HIPEC is a combination of surgery and chemotherapy delivered during surgery to treat cancer located in the abdomen. Patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis or peritoneal cancer, tumors of the appendix or colon, mucinous intra-abdominal tumors and peritoneal tumor (mesothelioma) benefit from HIPEC.

This procedure can be highly effective for this patient population which historically had only several months to live.

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center offers this treatment in the San Francisco East Bay Area for those living in the cities of Orinda, Lafayette, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito and Richmond.

How HIPEC works

Following resection of the abdominal tumor, the surgeon delivers heated chemotherapeutic agents via catheters to the abdomen for up to 2 hours prior to closing. An external pump recirculates the fluid and keeps its temperature at the desired range of 104 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit prior to exiting via 2 additional catheters. Patients are closely monitored postoperatively with an average length of stay of 10 days.

What are the Key Benefits for Your Patients?

Intra-abdominal administration of heated chemotherapy targets any remaining tumor cells and allows for greater drug penetration with concentrations that are 20-600 times higher than IV drug administration. Systemic absorption of the drug is minimal.

HIPEC can be repeated with the same benefit should the tumor return.

Which Patients May Benefit from HIPEC?

To minimize complications and optimize patient outcome, selection criteria is based on:

Health and physical ability

Absence of extra-abdominal disease or extensive liver involvement by the tumor

Lack of severe cardiac or pulmonary disease

Choose Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

You will be provided with the most advanced methods for the early detection and treatment of cancer by an exceptional team of clinical experts committed to treating you with the greatest skill, respect and compassion.

Through our Comprehensive Cancer Services, you will experience a complete continuum of technologically advanced cancer treatment – the latest in diagnostics, medical technology, research, education and psychological services all in the comfort of a community setting. Alta Bates Summit is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.